Potato-Zucchini Pancakes

I made these a while ago after seeing something similar in BHG. The BHG version had carrots incorporated as well, but I chose to leave them out. This was simple to do, the trickiest part was squeezing the water out of both the potatoes and zucchini. I just used a dish towel and rang the heck out of them until they were dry enough, then put them in a bowl.

I fried them in a little canola oil, and they were a great side dish. These pancakes are easy to adjust to your taste. I thought about adding some parmesan cheese, but didn't have any on hand, maybe next time.

Potato-Zucchini Pancakes

3 medium red potatoes shredded and squeezed dry

2 medium zucchini shredded and squeezed dry

2 eggs beaten

2 1/2 Tbs. AP flour

1/2 and onion finely chopped or (1/2 a cup)

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

Canola oil

Put shredded potato and zucchini in a medium sized bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the canola oil (enough to cover the bottom of the skillet).

Scoop out about 1/3 cup (or more if you want them larger) and put in pan. Flatten with a spatula and let cook until crispy on that side (about 4 minutes).

Turn and let cook on the other side until crispy.

Repeat until mixture is gone and serve.

Individual Pepper Jack Au Gratins

To go with our roasted chicken dinner below, I decided to have au gratin potatoes as an accompaniment. Not wanting to make a huge batch, I decided to use the cute 16oz. croning ware I recieved as a wedding gift.

I loved having my own individual serving dish, so cute! The potatoes were fantastic with the pepper jack, but any cheese will do.

Individual Pepper Jack Au Gratins

(makes 2 servings)

2 medium potatoes sliced thin

1/4 cup onion diced

1 garlic clove minced

1 cup milk ( I used 2%)

2 1/2 Tbs. butter

2 Tbs. flour

fresh grated nutmeg ( or use ground 1/4 tsp.)

salt and pepper

4 slices pepper jack cheese

Preheat oven to 400

Heat butter over medium heat. When heated, add onions. Cook for a couple minutes and add garlic. Cook another minute and add flour. Whisk to make a roux. Whisk in milk and bring to a boil. Turn down heat and let simmer for a minute or so until thickened. Add nutmeg and mix well.

To assemble the gratins:

Grease the mini casseroles with butter and lay sliced potatoes flat. Add a bit of the bechamel (milk, flour, butter combo). Lay a slice of cheese on top. Keep assembling until all ingredients are used. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and cook 5-10 minutes more or until the top gets a nice brown color.

Healthier Potato Soup

Chad and I love potato soup. The loaded baked potato kind with all the pieces of salty bacon, gooey cheese, and creamy potatoes. However, we don't like all the fat and calories assiciated with it. So I decided to Dr. up and old favorite and make it healthier. After using the recipe calculator in SparkRecipes, I achieved my goal! I ended up pureeing this with my immersion blender to thicken, but that step is up to you. I like how I got a bite of everything on my spoon, plus it thickened it up a bit. This soup is fairly easy and can be quick if the potatoes are prebaked.

Healthier Potato Soup

4 medium sized potatoes baked, skins removed and diced small

4 cups reduced fat milk

2 cups fat free, low sodium chicken broth

1/2 Tbs. canola oil

1 Tbs. unsalted butter

1/2 cup onions diced small

2 garlic cloves minced

1 1/2 Tbs. fresh chopped parsley

1 1/2 fresh chopped basil

2 Tbs. flour

4 pieces turkey bacon cooked and crumbled

3/4 cup 2 % cheddar cheese

1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream

2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. pepper

1/4 tsp. ground (or fresh ground) nutmeg

Heat a large pot over medium heat and add oil and butter. Add onions and saute until soft. Add garlic, parsley, and basil and saute about 2-3 minutes longer. Add flour and stir until it is a paste, continue to whisk for about a minute. Add milk to pot in a slow stream and whisk vigorously until flour is incorporated. Add chicken stock and the rest of the ingredients except sour cream and cheese and bring to a slow simmer. Continue to simmer about 10 minutes and take off heat. Stir in cheese and sour cream. At this point you can use the immersion blender to puree to thicken, or smash the potatoes up a bit instead.

Serves 6

Calories 216.5
Total Fat 9.8 g
Saturated Fat 4.1 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1.4 g
Monounsaturated Fat 3.7 g
Cholesterol 24.8 mg
Sodium 237.8 mg

Potassium 409.7 mg
Total Carbohydrate 24.2 g

Dietary Fiber 1.8 g
Sugars 0.2 g

Protein 8.5 g

Herb Infused Gnocchi with Parsley Garlic Brown Butter Sauce

I impressed myself tonight. I love gnocchi but I was always a little intimidated to prepare my own. Since I bought a potato ricer this past weekend I thought of all the recipes I could use it for. One that came to mind was gnocchi. I wasn't sure if I wanted to tackle something new this week, but then I though, what the hell? I am on summer vacation!

So I browsed some recipes looking for the perfect gnocchi but didn't find one. So I made up my own recipe using bits and pieces of others.

I decided to pan fry the gnocchi after boiling. It really gave them a wonderful bite. I topped with the parsley and garlic brown butter sauce and served with chicken apple sausage.

I am very happy with myself for attempting and conquering the gnocchi, it was not difficult at all.

Herb Infused Gnocchi

2 lbs. potatoes (I used russet)

1 egg beaten

1 1/4 + unbleached AP flour sifted

1 Tbs. finely chopped oregano

preheat oven to 400 degrees

Wash potatoes and pierce with a fork all over to let steam escape while baking. Bake potatoes for 40-60 minutes or until baked through.

Remove skin from potatoes and roughly chop. transfer potatoes to a ricer and rice the potatoes in a seperate bowl. Let cool to room temperature.

add egg and flour and use a wooden spoon to combine. sprinkle flour on a counter and work dough making sure all the flour is combined. When dough is no longer sticky, grab a chunk and roll into ropes about 3/4 " thick. Cut into 1 " pieces and roll on the back of a fork to make indentations (this is to capture sauce, but it isn't necessary).

Boil water in a large pot and drop in the gnocchi. When the float to the top they are done.

To pan fry add a little oil to a large skillet and heat over medium heat. Add gnocchi and saute until they are browned.

Parsley and Garlic Brown Butter Sauce

6 Tbs. unsalted butter

1 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley

1 clove garlic finely minced

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper

Melt butter over med low heat. Let it foam and bubble for about 3 minutes. Add parsley and garlic and let cook about 3 minutes longer. Serve on top of gnocchi.

Colcannon

I've never heard of this recipe before. Don't know why, but I guess I never looked for Irish inspired foods as much as I have this past week. I knew I wanted to make a brisket for St. Patty's as well as cabbage but since Chad wouldn't eat cabbage on its own, I needed something else. When I came upon this recipe on various sites, I thought this would be a perfect way to introduce Chad to cabbage. I love the stuff and can eat it prepared almost any way (no Kim Chi for me), but combined with potatoes seemed like a winner here.

I sauteed the cabbage on it's own, and cooked the thick cut bacon separately as well. In the end I just combined everything together. Very tasty, and Chad was impressed too. : )

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Colcannon

5 medium potatoes cut into large chunks (jackets on)

2 cups cabbage shredded

1/2 cup yellow onion diced

3 garlic cloves minced

3 slices thick cut bacon cooked and chopped

3 Tbs. unsalted butter divided

1/2 cup half and half

Salt and Pepper to taste

In a large pot add potatoes and cover with water. Bring to a boil over high heat and boil for 15 minutes or until tender. Meanwhile heat 1 1/2 tbs. butter over med. high heat in a medium sized skillet. Add onions and cabbage and cook 10 minutes until cabbage is wilted and onions are beginning to caramelize. Add Garlic and cook about 5 minutes more. While the cabbage is cooking put bacon on small baking sheet covered with foil and cook in oven until crispy (about 15 minutes).

When Potatoes are fork tender drain and return to pot. Add half and half, the rest of the butter salt and pepper. Add the cabbage mixture, and chopped bacon and mix well.

Shepherds Pie

This is my first one of these. I never had this growing up, except for maybe in restaurants. I have always wanted to make one, so I thought why not tonight. I used the recipe from America's Test Kitchen because I wanted to make sure I was making a tried and tested recipe.

I make a few variations like adding a package of fresh, sliced white mushrooms, and a chopped celery stalk That I sauteed with the onions. I also used a lb. ground turkey instead of 2 lbs. of ground beef, just to make it a bit lighter(and really because I only had a lb. of ground beef available).

Mine didn't come out as pretty as I envisioned it would but that is my fault. I was a little shy on the potatoes (which were yukon gold's and not the recommended russets, btw), but it still came out looking decent (despite the bubble over on the left in the pic above) and tasting out of this world.

Shepherd's Pie

(ATK recipe)

Filling:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large onion , chopped fine
2 medium carrots , peeled and chopped fine
2 pounds 85 percent lean ground beef
Table salt and ground black pepper

5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
3/4 cup beer (I used Amstel Light)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves
1 cup frozen peas

*note* I used half a bag of frozen peas and carrots. I added them when the recipe said to add the peas at the end. Oh, and I also added 3 cloves of garlic that I threw in there when I began to brown the meat.

Topping
2 1/2 pounds russet potatoes . peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
Table salt

2 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted
1/3 cup heavy cream , warmed
Ground black pepper
1 large egg , beaten

1. For the filling: Heat butter in large skillet over medium-high heat until foaming. Add onion and carrots and cook until soft, about 8 minutes. Add meat, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook, breaking up meat into small pieces with wooden spoon, until browned, about 12 minutes. Add flour and tomato paste and cook until paste begins to darken, about 1 minute.

2. Add cream and cook until it spatters, about 1 minute. Add broth, beer, soy sauce, and thyme and simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently, until mixture is thick but still saucy, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in peas, adjust seasonings, and transfer to broiler safe 2-quart casserole dish.

3. For the topping: Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Bring potatoes, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and water to cover to boil in large saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain potatoes, return to saucepan, and mash potatoes with butter and cream until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Spread potatoes over filling, using spatula to smooth top (see photo at left). Brush with egg and drag fork across top to make ridges. Bake until filling is bubbling, about 15 minutes. Turn on broiler and cook until top is golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from oven and cool 10 minutes. Serve.

Make Ahead
Make the filling through step 2, but do not add the peas. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two days. When ready to proceed, reheat the filling in a large saucepan, stir in the peas, and transfer to a broiler safe 2-quart casserole. Proceed with the recipe from step 3.

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

To go along with the lovely meatloaf below I made mashed potatoes. In my opinion, nothing goes better with meat loaf than mashed potatoes. I love roasting garlic first before adding it to the potatoes, it gives them so much more depth. And using yukon gold's are a must, they make the best mashed potatoes.

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

3 large garlic cloves

1/2 tsp. olive oil

3 large yukon gold potatoes (about 2lbs.)

1/2 cup half and half (warm)

2 Tbs. unsalted butter

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. fresh gound pepper

Heat oven to 375

Peel skin off garlic put in a small oven safe dish and add oil. mix together, making sure all sides are covered. Cover dish and roast in oven for 30-40 minutes or until browned.

Peel potatoes and cut in large chunks. place in a large pot of salted, boiling water and boil until fork tender. Drain and add them back to pot. Add roasted garlic, and the rest of the ingredients and either mix with electric mixer or mash with you masher.

Pork Chops with Mustard Cream

When we were at the grocery store Saturday, Chad had mentioned that he was craving pork chops. So into the cart they went. We chose bone-in chops since they have so much more flavor. I'm always on the hunt for a good pork chop recipe, one that is relatively quick (meaning without brining) and not a ton of ingredients. I looked on line for some recipes and found one here, but I modified it a bit. I'm glad I tried this recipe, the chops turned out so moist and yummy and the sauce was perfect for the mashed potatoes I whipped up. I'm sure to make this dish again.

Pork Chops with Mustard Cream

• 4 1 inch thick bone in pork chops
• Flour for dusting chops
• Salt and Pepper
• 3 Tbs. butter divided
• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 1 cup crimini mushrooms
• 2 large cloves of garlic minced
• 1 1/2 cup chicken stock warmed
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 Tbs. dijon mustard

Heat oven to 350

Season chops with salt and pepper and dust with flour. Heat 2 Tbs. of butter and 1 Tbs. olive oil in a large skillet over med. high heat. Brown chops on each side for about 3 minutes. Transfer to another plate and keep warm. Add the rest of the butter and olive oil to the pan and add the onions and mushrooms. Saute for about 5 minutes, add garlic and saute 2 minutes more. Deglaze the pan with the white wine and let reduce by 1/2 about 6-8 minutes. Add warm stock, and stir contents together. Add chops cover with foil and cook for about 15 minutes covered. Uncover and cook about 5-10 minutes more. Remove chops to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm. Return skillet to burner and heat juices over med. low heat. Add heavy cream and let reduce to become thick. remove from burner and add dijon mix thoroughly.

Serve chops and sauce over mashed potatoes

Mashed Potatoes

• 4 med. sized russet potatoes
• 3 Tbs. unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup hot milk
• salt and pepper

Peel and cut potatoes into chunks. cover with cold water and heat to a boil. Lower heat to get a gentle boil and cook for about 15 minutes or until fork tender. Remove from heat drain and put back in pot. Turn heat to low and shake pot to remove excess moisture. Add butter and salt and mash with a masher. Add milk and remove from heat. Continue to mash until you get your desired consistency.

Cabernet Pot Roast and Roasted Potatoes

Today was definitely not a chilly fall day. Here in HOT-lanta we rose to a high of 75 degrees. It certainly did not feel like a normal fall November day. So why am I making a fall/winter type meal? It's because of the braised short ribs we had for dinner the other night. They were so good, I have been craving more.

This time I decided to use a 2lb Chuck roast, and roast the potatoes seperately. I cooked this in my huge cast iron skillet because I still don't own a heavy dutch oven. Not yet anyway (hint hint Chad). This would be a great meal to entertain with and I'm thinking of making it for my lunch club. The meat is inexpensive, and using the braising technique will guarantee a juicy roast with remarkable flavor. Let me add that the leftovers are phenominal, almost better the next day.

Cabernet Pot Roast

• 1 2 lb. chuck roast trimmed of excess fat
• Flour for dredging plus 1 Tbs. for slurry
• salt, pepper and garlic powder for seasoning
• 2 Tbs. canola oil
• 1 cup Cabernet
• 1 cup diced tomatoes
• 1 1/4 cup beef broth divided
• 3 med. sized carrots cut into long strips
• 2 celery stalks roughly chopped
• 1 medium chopped
• 4 garlic cloves roughly chopped
• 1 rosemary sprig cut in half
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 sage stems with leaves
• 1 Tbs. unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 325

Heat skillet over med. high heat and add oil. Season meat with salt, pepper and garlic powder and dredge in flour. Sear meat in skillet on all sides, and set aside. Add butter to the pan and take off burner to cool down. Lower heat to med. low and return the skillet to the burner after a few minutes. Add all veggies and herbs except garlic. Saute for about 5 minutes or until onion is translucent and soft. Add garlic and cook a couple minutes. Deglaze the pan with the wine scraping all the stuck on bit from the bottom of the pan. Add tomatoes, and broth and bring to a simmer. Let simmer about 5 minutes until slightly reduced. Add roast, cover skillet tightly with foil and roast for 2-2 1/2 hours.

Take skillet out of oven and put meat and veggies on a platter. Discard stems and make a slurry with 1 Tbs. of flour and water. Turn heat on burner to low and stir in slurry and 1/4 cup of beef broth. Continue stirring until you have the consistency desired. Serve over roast and potatoes.

Rosemary Garlic Roasted Potatoes

• 3 Medium sized potatoes cut into one medium wedges
• 1 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. coarse salt
• 1/2 tsp. fresh pepper
• 1 tsp. fresh rosemary chopped

Put all ingredients into a bowl and toss to combine. Line a cooking sheet with foil and roast in the oven with the beef at 325 for 30-40 minutes.

Milanesa and Parmesan Pesto Potatoes

So I'm still not feeling 100%, but I needed to prepare something for dinner. I defrosted the thin sliced bottom round I had in the freezer and that was about as far as I got with dinner ideas for next day's meal last night. I still wasn't sure about what to make until about 6:30 pm tonight, which is usually when I almost finished cooking dinner.

I decided I would make a childhood favorite of mine, milanesa. It is a very popular way to prepare meat in Argentina, and having a father from Argentina, I would eat this a few times a month when I was a kid. It is very similar to a weiner schnitzel. Don't be concerned with this cut of meat being tough, because it is sliced so thin that somehow it has tons of flavor and is not chewy. For a side I made parmesan pesto potatoes, a dish you don't really have to put a lot of effort into. When I was younger my mom always made homemade french fries with the milanesa. But because I was already frying the meat, I thought I would cut down on the grease.

Milanesa

• 1 lb thin cut bottom or top round seasoned with salt pepper and garlic powder on both sides.
• flour for dredging
• 2 eggs beaten
• seasoned bread crumbs preferably home made
• oil for frying

Preheat oil in a large skillet. Dredge meat in flour, then egg, then bread crumbs. Fry until golden on both sides.

Parmesan Pesto Potatoes

• 4-5 medium sized red potatoes
• 1/2 cup pesto (recipe follows)
• 2 tbs. parmesan
• salt and pepper

preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice potatoes into small pieces and put into a medium sized bowl. Pour pesto over the potatoes, season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle the parmesan. Mix until well coated. Line a baking sheet with foil, and bake 35-40 minutes or until nicely browned and crispy.

Pesto

• 1/4 cup fresh basil
• 1/4 cup flat leaf parsley
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 Tbs. pine nuts

Put basil, parsley, pine nuts and garlic into a food processor. Pulse a few times and then turn on low and drizzle olive oil through the feeder. Let process for about 30-45 seconds until smooth.

Theme Week: Nola: Barbecue Shrimp

• Now this isn't your typical barbecue with a grill and a BBQ sauce. Well, not a typical bbq sauce that is. New Orleans has a special way of preparing BBQ shrimp, and it is absolutely lip smacking good. It starts out with head-on/shell on shrimp (the heads hold so much flavor!), LOTS of butter, and of course some cajun seasoning and fresh herbs.
  I haven't had this dish in quite a while. Probably not for about a year. I don't know why, I guess I just forgot about it. But when I was browsing the web for more Nola cuisine for my theme week, I came across many recipes for it. I also have a little spiral cookbook that I have no memory of buying called "Classic Cajun Cooking" (you know the kind, churches/schools sell them for fundraisers) that I forgot about and there was a recipe for the Nola style BBQ shrimp in it as well. Instead of following a recipe, I kind of took a bit from all of them. You must serve this with a crusty bread, preferably french. The sauce is just too good not to have something to sop it up with. I also made spicy boiled red potatoes and oven roasted corn on the cob. A nice beer would also pair nicely with this dish. Recommended: Abita Amber.
  
  
  BBQ Shrimp
  
  1 lb head on/shell on large shrimp (I used 21-25 shrimp but unfortunately they didn't have the head on)
  2 sticks of unsalted butter
  4 cloves garlic minced
  1 small or half a medium onion finely chopped
  1 sprig of fresh rosemary finely chopped
  2 Tbs. fresh flat leaf parsley finely chopped
  1 tsp. dried thyme
  1 Tbs. fresh oregano finely chopped
  3 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
  Juice of half a lemon
  3/4 bottle of amber beer (Abita if you can find it)
  1 tsp. cayenne pepper
  2 Tbs. Creole seasoning (Tony Chachere's)
  1 Tbs. Crystal hot sauce
  
  Heat oven to 400 degrees. melt 3 tbs. butter in a large cast iron skillet and saute onion for a couple of minutes. Add garlic, and the rest of the herbs seasonings and saute for a couple minutes more. Add the beer and lime juice and let reduce for about 5-8 minutes (about half). Add cold butter and stir. Add shrimp try to get them in an even layer and put in oven for 12 minutes.
  
  Oven Roasted Corn on the Cob
  
  • 2 cobs husks and silk removed
  • 1 Tbs. butter
  • Foil for wrapping

  Melt butter and baste corn evenly on all sides. Wrap in foil and cook in 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.

  Spicy Boiled Potatoes
  
  
  • 5 small new potatoes halved
  • 1 Tbs. cajun seasoning
  • 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
  • 4-5 dashes Crystal hot sauce
  Wash and cut potatoes in half add to pot and cover with cold water. Heat over med. high/high heat until it comes to a rolling boil, add seasonings and cook about 15-20 minutes or until fork tender.

Ally's Steakhouse

Tonight felt like we went out to dinner at a steak house. We had perfectly cooked bacon wrapped filets, my au gratin recipe with a twist and I (yes only me, you know Chad's fear of vegetables, lol) had steamed broccoli.
I didn't plan on wrapping the 2 filets with bacon, but the bacon was just sitting there asking to be used up. I also didn't plan on using potatoes again for dinner tonight (we had them in the soup last night) but what goes better with steak than potatoes? I wanted to spice things up a bit so instead of using the usual cheddar/jack blend in my au gratin, I decided to use pepper jack/cheddar. Let me tell you, it was fantastic! I especially loved the cheese crust.
I will be making au gratin potatoes with the pepper jack more often! It really felt like we went out to a fancy steak house for dinner. But the fantasy soon went away after I remembered the dishes in my sink! ; )

Bacon Wrapped Filet Mignon

• 2 6oz. filets
• 2 strips bacon
• salt, pepper and garlic powder
• 1 tbs. evoo
• Heat oven to broil at 500 degrees

Let steaks come to room temp. and season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Wrap bacon around filets and secure with a tooth pic. Heat cast iron grill pan over med. high heat and add olive oil. Sear meat on both sides for 2 minutes. Transfer pan to oven and cook 3-4 minutes per side for medium done steaks.

Pepper Jack Au Gratin

• 3 medium Yukon gold potatoes sliced very thin
  1/2 cup finely chopped vidalia onion
  3 cloves garlic minced
  1 1/2 cup of milk (2%)
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
  3 Tbs. unsalted butter
  3 Tbs. flour
• 6 slices pepper jack cheese
  1 cups shredded Cheddar
  1/2 tsp. freshly gated nutmeg
  Salt and Pepper

For the Bechamel, melt butter in a medium sized sauce pan over medium heat and add onions. Saute for about a minute and add garlic. Saute for another minute and add flour. Whisk until smooth and add milk slowly Whisking the entire time. Add nutmeg and Salt and pepper. Let come to a simmer and remove from heat.Preheat oven to 375.Grease a small casserole with butter and layer 1/3 of the potatoes on the bottom. Layer the bechamel over the potatoes, and then add a layer of cheese (break up slices into pieces and lay around on top, then use the cheddar). Complete this layering process until all ingredients are used. Cover and bake for 45 minutes, and remove the foil the last 15 minutes to let the cheese get nice and browned.

Potato and Shallot Tortilla

When I was a girl, my Papa used to make this for us on weekends. He is from Argentina, and he used to eat this when he was a boy. He learned how to make tortilla from his father, my Giddy. We call Giddi ( Jaad-di or Jeddi arabic for Grandfather) the "King of Tortillas" since nobody can cook a tortilla like him. He makes a few variations of it, and my favorite is zucchini.
I had a few yukon gold potatos that needed to be used up, and Chad and I were hungry for breakfast. We are not a big egg eaters. In fact, the only time we do eat eggs is if I make a tortilla.
I used shallots in this tortilla instead of onion because I ran out of onions with last night's dinner.

The tricky part to a tortilla is the flip so a non-stick skillet is necessary. You'll also need a large plate to fit over the skillet to flip the tortilla.

Ingredients:

• 3 Yukon gold potatoes peeled, and sliced into thin half moons
• 1 large shallot (or 1/2 onion) finely chopped
• 6 eggs
• salt and fresh pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

Heat the medium sized skillet over med. to med. low heat. Add potatoes and onion and let cook until potatoes are soft DO NOT FRY! You do not want crispy potatoes, so be careful with the heat and amount of oil. You don't want too much oil either, just enough for the potatos to be partially covered but not completely.


When potatoes are soft, remove with slotted spoon and let cool. Pour off all oil into a container except for about a Tbs. Beat eggs and add cooled potatoes. Let rest for a few minutes. Heat skillet over med heat and add egg potato mixture.

Let cook through, and flip to let the other side brown.

If the egg isn't cooking through you can set oven safe skillet under a broiler for a few minutes then take out and flip.

You can serve immediately, or eat later when cooled (that is how I like it!)

Spicy Roasted Chicken

Last night I used the other whole chicken I bought from Publix when they had a 2 for one sale. I was in the mood for something spicy so I made a spicy rub that I Incorporated into a compound butter.

I love making whole chicken because there are always leftovers to use in another dish, not to mention the home made chicken stock you can make with the carcass.

I realized last night that I make a whole chicken about once to two times a month. Enough for me to rationalize that I need a "V" rack, and a new roasting pan. I will be looking for one this weekend. : )

I didn't go too crazy on the sides because I was plain old tired from work. I always have frozen veggies in the freezer for this very reason. They are a cinch to prepare in minutes, and that is what I wanted last night. I usually buy a bag of frozen peas and carrots, green beans, spinach, broccoli, and a california blend (carrots, cauliflower, broccoli). I used the California blend last night because I love all three of those veggies, and chad will eat the cauliflower and carrots. (one way to get him to eat his veggies ; )

As for the starch we had roasted potatoes, another low maintenance side.

Spicy Compound Butter Rub

• 1/2 stick unsalted butter softened



• 1 1/2 tsp. cayenne (or a little more if you like spicy)



• 1 Tbs. chili powder



• 1 Tbs. cumin



• 1 tsp. dried basil



• 1 tsp. dried oregano



• 1 tsp. garlic powder



• 1/2 tsp. onion powder



• 1 tsp. kosher salt



• 1 tsp. fresh ground pepper


• 

Mix all dry ingredients together and add to the softened butter. Mix butter and rub together until Incorporated.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Rinse chicken inside and out (remove giblets and neck from cavity) and pat dry. Rub compound butter all all over the bird and under the skin on both sides (push you fingers under the skin as far as you can go with out ripping). You should have some butter compound left use it to baste the chicken and combine with the potatoes.
Place in pan or in your rack and roast for an hour and fifteen (ovens may vary). My bird was about 4 lbs. Make sure it a meat thermometer reads 180 in the thickest part of the thigh and it will be done. Baste every 20-30 minutes

I cut up 3 yukon potatoes basted them with the butter and threw them in the pan with the chicken the last 1/2 hour of roasting. Easy peasy.

Home Made Chicken Stock

• Take all chicken off the bones and save for later use.



• put carcass and neck bone into a deep pot.



• miripoix (one large onion quartered, 2 carrots chopped, 3 celery stalks chopped with leaves)



• 2 bay leaves



• 1 Tbs. salt



• 2 tsp. peppercorns

Put all ingredients into a big pot and fill with cold water (about an inch from the top). Bring to a boil and turn heat to low and simmer for 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours. The longer it simmer the more intense the flavor. Take off heat transfer to another container and let cool. When cooled the fat will collect at the top and you can skim it off. Separate into containers and use when needed.

Gotta love already prepared burgers!

I absolutely love Morningstar brand black bean burgers. Just the right amount of spice, and quick cooking. For lunch today I decided to top my burger off with some smoky mozzarella, and chopped grape tomatoes. I have no buns in the house so I ate it alone (probably healthier, right?) I paired my burger with some home made potato chips, and some delicious cherries.



I have to say, this was a very filling and satisfying lunch!

Home Style Meal

I didn't have much to work with yesterday since I hadn't gone grocery shopping, so I was limited with what I could make. After checking the pantry and freezer, I decided to take out the lb. of lean ground beef to defrost. Now, what to make??
Well, thankfully I had some potatoes, and also in the freezer, frozen cut green beans and a few slices of bacon. With those ingredients on hand, the only thing that came to my mind was something home"styley"... Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and green beans with bacon. To cut down on cooking time, I made mini meatloaves.
My mother-in-law gave me a nifty little mini loaf pan with 4 compartments. I love the thing!

Mini Meat Loaves (for 2)

• 1 lb lean ground beef
  1/4 cup diced onions
  1 clove of garlic minced
  2 Tbs. fresh basil chopped
  1 tsp. oregano
  3 Tbs. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  1 egg
  3 dashes of milk (maybe 3 tbs???)
  1/3 cup bread crumbs
  coarse salt and pepper
  
  For the glaze:
  4 Tbs. tomato sauce
  1 tsp brown sugar
  1 squirt Dijon mustard
  
  Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  combine all meat loaf ingredients into a bowl with hands. Shape into 2 individual loaves, or use mini loaf pans.
  
  Combine glaze ingredients together and spread on the top of meat loaves. Cook in oven for 30 minutes.
  
  Mashed Potatoes
  
  3 med. Yukon gold
  3 Tbs. unsalted butter
  1/4 cup milk
  Salt and pepper
  
  Cut potatoes into 2 inch chunks and put in pot with cold water (about 2 inches above potatoes). Bring to boil for about 15-20 minutes until fork tender. Drain potatoes, and return to pot. Add butter, milk and salt and pepper. Use a hand mixer (or a masher) and mix together.
  
  Green Beans
  
  1 1/2 cup frozen cut green beans (defrosted a bit)
  3 slices of bacon
  1 clove of garlic
  salt and pepper
  
  Saute bacon in pan until almost done add green beans and bacon, continue to saute for 3-6 minutes until beans are heated through and but not soggy, and bacon is crisp.

Awesome Au Gratin!

I had originally wanted to make this for the BBQ yesterday, but like I said in my last post, the potatoes were already covered. So I decided to make them tonight with leftover mushroom crusted pork chops I ordered from a restaurant (Wildfire Grill) on Friday. The portion was huge, and it was enough for Chad and I to share for leftovers.

The potatoes came out great, and I'm very pleased with the recipe. It's a keeper!



Au Gratin Potatoes

• 3 medium Yukon gold potatoes sliced very thin
• 1/2 cup finely chopped vidalia onion
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 1/2 cup of milk (2%)
• 3 Tbs. unsalted butter
• 3 Tbs. flour
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar/jack blend
• 1/2 tsp. freshly gated nutmeg
• Salt and Pepper

For the Bechamel

Melt butter in a medium sized sauce pan over medium heat and add onions. Saute for about a minute and add garlic. Saute for another minute and add flour. Whisk until smooth and add milk slowly Whisking the entire time. Add nutmeg and Salt and pepper. Let come to a simmer and remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 375.

Grease a small casserole with butter and layer 1/3 of the potatoes on the bottom. Layer the bechamel over the potatoes, and then add a layer of cheese. Complete this layering process until all ingredients are used. Cover and bake for 45 minutes, and remove the foil the last 15 minutes to let the cheese get nice and browned.